News

For many Dentists throughout Scotland, emerging advances in practice management system design will soon be available to further support the future changing needs of NHS claims management.

The emerging changes, set to revolutionise claims management in Scotland, will be welcome news for many

The exciting new scheme, known as eDental, will be launched in a controlled and phased manor as a direct response to NHS Scotland’s forward thinking drive to modernise the payment and approval processes for NHS Dental claims in Scotland.

Not only will eDental provide a real opportunity to deliver a range of improvements around clinical decision making, it is set to lead the way for improvements in patient and practitioner experience, risk management, operational efficiency and financial governance.

Add to this the many benefits of the new system outlined by Practitioner Services on their website, and it’s no surprise that eDental will be a welcome change when it becomes available in the near future.

And currently, Systems for Dentists, a leading supplier of Dental Software in Scotland are working closely with practitioner services to gain accreditation through the fit for purpose testing process.

While other software suppliers will also follow suit, the team of forward looking developers at Systems for Dentists are working towards being the first partner to release their eDental solution to NHS Dental practices in Scotland.

This news follows the announcement earlier in 2016 when Systems for Dentists were also the first dental practice management software supplier to release their electronic version of the GP17pr form, having been a very early adopter to seek approval from the NHS.

And speaking about the work underway on the eDental platform in Scotland, Ryszard Jurowski, Managing Director of Systems for Dentists said;

The emerging “eDental” will be a revolutionary new processing system allowing NHS dental practices to better manage their claims. When fully implemented the electronic prior approval process will not only speed up the process of prior approvals but also enable our clients to be truly paperless.

The team at NHS Scotland have been tireless in their desire to modernise the payment and approval process. We have been delighted to work closely with them on this exciting project which stands to ensure our clients can take advantage of the significant benefits this solution offers, as early as possible”.

In addition to working closely with the main dental software suppliers in Scotland, Practitioner Services have also designed a new web form. For practices that do not have a full practice management solution, the web form, will allow for electronic claims over the SWAN (formally N3) connection.

In time, it is likely that NHS Scotland will require all claims to be made electronically, this is certainly an understandable approach, as more than 90% of all general dental claims are now made electronically, ensuring accuracy and far more forgiving on the environment. When this time comes, Scotland will once again be leading the way in the UK.

The free web form solution from Practitioner Services, is not intended to replace a fully-fledged dental software, but is a good start for any practice new to technology.

Dental Software suppliers have all self-funded their development of the new interface with the eDental system, though NHS Scotland have invested heavily in the development of both the back-end solution and an adaptor to ensure the process is as simple as possible.

In response to the significant investment made by Systems for Dentists for their own connection to the eDental platform, Mr Jurowski further stated:

“We have always valued our Scottish clients, our services are designed to offer outstanding service, value and improve efficiencies. It would be un-imaginable for us to ignore such a fantastic opportunity to improve the working lives of all our clients in Scotland.”